


New York Skyline Burning Bright

by AuroraShard



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, It will work out in the end but it is canon compliant, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:14:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24722872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AuroraShard/pseuds/AuroraShard
Summary: Laura watches the events in New York unfold on tv.
Relationships: Clint Barton/Laura Barton/Natasha Romanov
Comments: 3
Kudos: 36





	New York Skyline Burning Bright

**Author's Note:**

> Shout out to Alternative-ApproachToChronology for the idea! We were discussing the kids' ages, and realized that Cooper and Lila were born before NY. She suggested a fic of Laura watching The Battle of N.Y. on tv, and here we are.

Laura’s emergency phone rings. Her blood runs cold as she answers it.

“Is this Sal’s Pizza?” A New York-accented voice asks. It is unmistakably Natasha. Before she can reply, Natasha continues.

“I’d like a large cheese, extra spicy. Put as many peppers on it as you can. To go please. Don’t call me, I’ll just come by when I can and grab it.” She says. Laura replies on auto-pilot.

“You have the wrong number, I’m afraid.” Natasha huffs.

“My husband put in the wrong number.” She says, and from the background of the call, Laura hears Clint call out,

“Sorry hun, love you.” Natasha cuts in again.

“Do you have Sal’s phone number?” She asks.

“I do, let me grab it.” Laura replies, heading upstairs. She passes the kids in their playroom, stacking blocks and plastic toys. She hurries on up the stairs. She locks her door, and heads to the gun safe to retrieve their emergency burner phone.

“I have it here-“ she says, but Natasha cuts her off.

“Oh, we found it, thanks, though. Bye!” And the line goes dead. Laura cradles both phones in her hand, staring at them. She reviews their coded message in her head; they were safe, but everything was FUBAR in a big way. They would reach out when it was done, but she should have the emergency burner phone on her. If there was an emergency, she could call one of the two numbers saved there. She had to stay put.

She made sure the phone turned on, flipping to the contacts. There were only two names, the only two people who knew about her within SHIELD. Nick and Phil, although they were listed as Nancy and Patricia. She stares at the phone, aching with the desire to call, to know what was happening. She swallows thickly, fighting back tears and nausea. She sits still for a moment, taking in deep lungfuls of air. They had done drills for this. Clint and Natasha had made sure she would be prepared. She knew what to do.

She grabs the laptop tucked into the safe, secures the safe, and heads downstairs. She boots it following the protocol Natasha had taught her, loading the security measures. When it beeps at her, she boots up the web browser, pulling up the news scanner application Natasha had loaded. As it curates, Laura stares, dumbstruck, at the footage playing out before her.

Real life aliens. Enormous whale-like creatures, humanoid aliens on floating bikes, what she assumed was a Quinjet. Some kind of portal above New York. Iron Man, firing rockets, the Hulk, roaring. Captain America and Thor, and, finally, Clint and Natasha. She zooms in on that feed, watching them take down aliens left and right before the reporter ducks and runs. The feeds were shaky, updates on loop scrolling across the bottom. Emergency broadcasts and alerts cut in across all screens. 

She stares, eyes darting from screen to screen. She feels helpless, watching it all unfold. She trusts her partners, knows they are doing their jobs, but this, this was something more than they had ever planned for. Laura jerks as she hears footsteps on the stairs, and she closes the laptop quickly. 

“Hey kiddo, what’s up?” She asks Lila as she toddles down the steps.

“‘M hungry.” She says, coming over to press herself against Laura’s leg. She nods. 

“Let’s get you some popcorn and you can play with Cooper while I figure out dinner. Let me put on a movie for you guys.” She shuffles Lila to the kitchen, making up a quick bag of popcorn. She lets Lila lead her upstairs, and she settles the kids on the old couch there and sets up one of their favorite movies. She knows it will keep them distracted while she figures out what is happening. 

Ducking back downstairs, she clicks open the computer again. She reviews the reports; there is blurry footage of something speeding towards New York, of Iron Man zipping past a reporter. They are hard to track through the sky, but soon enough it is clear what is happening. She can’t see either of her partners, but the news ticker does not reveal any casualties for the Avengers. 

In a flash of blue, the portal closes. She waits with bated breath, watching, like all of New York. The monsters tumble from the sky, limp. And then there is Iron Man, tumbling to the ground. The Avengers are there again, suddenly. The Hulk and Captain America, at least. In minutes they rush off towards Stark Tower, and the news crews are soon being turned away by what Laura knows to be SHIELD agents. As the clips start to loop she turns away, setting about making sandwiches and vegetables on autopilot. 

She finds herself staring at the drinks in the fridge, wondering how to tell the kids about what had happened. The burner phone rings, jolting Laura from her thoughts. She scrambles over to the table, answering it.

“Hello? What’s going on? Is everyone okay?” She rushes out. 

“Everything is under control. They are safe, though we will need to do a debriefing. Your husband was involved in an incident these last few days, and so he will need to remain on base for a period of time. Your wife should be able to visit you, although she may stay with your husband. I will have them call you when they can, but rest assured they are safe. I assume you saw the news?” Nick Fury says, clipped and official. Laura sags against the table in relief.

“Thank god. I did, they called briefly to give me a heads up. I have the laptop set up and running. Please, have them call me as soon as they can.” She says. The background noise behind Nick picks up.

“I will. I have to go. Goodbye.” He says, and hangs up. She stays sagged against the table for a long minute, getting her breathing under control. She has no idea what kind of incident Clint would cause, but she longs to be with both of them through this. She aches to hear their voices. She wipes a hand through her hair and lets out a hysterical bark of laughter. Her partners were fighting actual, literal aliens! From space! And what would she tell the kids? Perhaps it was for the best that they were on school vacation. She has a bit of time to figure it out before they would undoubtedly hear about it at school.

With that in mind, she joins the kids in the play room for dinner, eating in front of the television while their movie plays in the background. Laura finishes her food without even tasting it, staring in the vague direction of the television but not really watching the film. As the kids help her clean up afterwards, Cooper gives her a look.

“Are you okay, mom?” He asks. She blinks at him for a moment before crouching down to his level. She sighs, turning to address Lila, too.

“Momma and Dad called. There’s been some trouble at work. They’re fine, but they won’t be home for a little while. They may not be able to call for a while, either, like when they had that big trip last year. Remember that? I’m just worried about all the work they are doing. When I know more about it, I’ll let you know, okay?” They had all agreed to be as honest with the kids as they could, while still maintaining the secrecy and security their occupations required. The kids nod, helping her clean up. 

They follow their nightly routine like normal, with the kids wrapping up the day curled up to Laura as she reads aloud from their nightly novel. If the kids notice her character voices lacking, they don’t mention it, until finally Lila’s eyes start to droop. Laura smiles as she tries to stay awake.

“Why don’t we head to bed, hm? I’m ready for bed.” She says, stretching. Lila grumbles, but is too tired to really fight back, and soon enough both kids are tucked in and sleeping. Laura takes the laptop to bed with her, sitting up and reading articles and watching video clips until she determines there is no new information about the fate of the Avengers. Tony Stark and the others are alive, but are not giving statements at this time. It was all she could hope for, she thinks absently as she turns the volume on the burner phone down. She didn't want to wake the kids.

Just as she goes to set it down on the laptop it rings, buzzing in her hands. She drops it to the bed in surprise before flailing and finally bringing it to her ear.

“Hello?” She asks tentatively.

“Laura, it’s me. I’m about ready to pass out, but I had to call.” Natasha says, and Laura can picture her slumped in a corner somewhere at the SHIELD HQ. Laura lets out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding.

“Nat, it’s so good to hear your voice. Nick called, and gave me an update. He said Clint was involved with something and needs to stay on base for a bit, and that you were likely to stay with him. He said you two were alright, though. Are you hurt?” She spoke in a rush. Natasha grunts.

“It’s… a bit of a mess. I’m not at liberty to discuss it yet, but he’s okay. It was… related to today. I think it’ll be awhile before he will come back, but not because he doesn’t want to. We're both fine. A bit bruised, but nothing broken or anything like that. I have to go now, though, but I’ll call tomorrow. Did you talk to the kids?” She asks. 

“Just said there was an issue at work for you guys and that you may not be able to call or come home for a bit. I’m not sure how to explain it all to them, but for now they're okay. I’ll let you go, you need to rest. I love you so much, and tell that to Clint, too, if you see him. Goodnight, hun.” She says quietly. 

“Okay, that’s probably for the best. I’ll ask around for what info we're giving the public. The PR team is having a hell of a week. I’ll tell him. I love you, too. Sleep well.” Laura reluctantly ends the call, placing the phone on the nightstand, next to the powered off laptop. She lies in bed for a few moments before finally turning on an audiobook, hoping that she’ll be able to get some sleep. She’s sure she will need it to deal with the week to come.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. It was a fun challenge to think about!


End file.
